Home Minister Rajnath Singh has dwelled on the need to create a dedicated cell to monitor online radicalisation, amidst warning that do-it-yourself or lone wolf attacks are now emerging as one of the greatest threats to society. The home minister was addressing the annual conference of top police officials of the country at Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh. He cited the examples of lone-wolf attacks that hit France, Germany and the UK last year as instances of how new forms of terror have evolved in the recent past based on increased element of radicalisation among the youth globally. Some of the lone wolf attacks are not meant to be spectacular incidents but instead could be as disparate as mowing down civilians during public gatherings or stabbings of individuals, from what has been observed across the globe.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), while elaborating on the home minister’s advice, has called for special unit to collect and share information on real time basis with central security forces and state police agencies. The IB further stressed on a national counter-terrorism strategy that focuses intensely on the online propaganda being unleashed by terrorist organisations from across the border.

The nation’s domestic intelligence agency has also asked the Director-Generals of Police to analyse radicalisation patterns in their respective states. This shall help in understanding emerging patterns of radicalisation and also the latest strategies being adopted by international terrorist organisations. Also, security experts believe that while a substantiated distinction exists between a DIY attacker and a lone-wolf attacker, it is yet to be formalised and a cohesive strategy is yet to be formulated to counter their nefarious designs. A DIY attacker may have a handler, which is not the case with a lone-wolf attacker. The past incidents across the globe point to the fact that both kinds of attackers use knives, machetes and high-speed vehicles—as was witnessed in Nice, Berlin and London.